Tweezers



(No Modl.)

E. N. PARKER. TWEEZERS.

No. 583.312. Patented May 25,1897.

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ERASTUS N. PARKER, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

TWEEZERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,312, dated May 25,1897.

Application filed August 21, 1896. Serial No. 608,505. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ERASTUS N. PARKER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residin g at Sprin gfield, in the county of Hampden and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTweezers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to that class of tweezers used by printers whichhave attached thereto a bodkin capable of being moved from its operativeposition to one in which it is housed in such manner as to permit thetool to be carried in the pocket without danger of injury to person orclothing.

The object of the invention is to provide a tool of this nature havingvery simple and inexpensive means for positively locking the bodkin inits operative position and for-releasing the same to enable it to beswung to its inoperative position.

To this end my invention consists in the tool constructed and operatedas hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in theclaim.

Referringto the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts inthe several views, Figure 1 is a side view of a tool embodying myinvention with the bodkin shown in its inoperative position by brokenlines. Fig. 2 is a'similar View with one of the jaws of the tool removedand the bodkin in its operative or locked position. Fig. 3 is an edgeview with the bodkin in its operative position.

The letters a and b designate, respectively, the two jaws of thetweezers, which jaws are slightly bowed and are milled or roughened ontheir inner surface at their front end and 011 their outer surfacesubstantially midway between their ends, as is common in printerstweezers. Near their rear end said jaws are united by rivets a, passingthrough the interposed bridge-block cl in the usual manner.

The letter e designates the bodkin, which is provided at its-inner endwith the fanshaped head 6, containing the hole 6 elongated in the planeof the axis of the bodkin, through which passes the pivot-screw 6 saidscrew passing through a hole in one of the jaws a b at their extremerear end and entering a tapped hole in the other jaw, by which means itis adapted to secure an adjustment of the degree of pressure which saidjaws exert against the sides of the head 6 of the bodkin. By reason ofthe elongation of the hole 6 the bodkin is rendered capable of a limitedmovementinits axial plane in addition to its swinging movement about thescrew 6 as a center, and such first-mentioned movement is utilized toeffect the locking of the bodkin in its working posit-ion and itsrelease therefrom by providing the head 8 thereof with a notch or recess6, the sides of which are parallel with the axis of the bodkin, and byproviding the bridge-block d with a projection cl, adapted to enter saidnotch or recess, as shown in Fig. 2, when the bodkin is swung to itsoperative position and thrust rearwardly until the screw e bears againstthe outer end wall of the oblong hole 6 jecting edge of the head c,which edge is.

milled for the purpose, as shown, and the bedkin is swung to theposition shown by broken lines in Fig. 2 and is then thrust inwardly inthe line of its axis, thereby causing the projection d on block d toenter the notch or' recess 6. The bodkin is thereby securely locked inits working position, and as it can be released only by a direct outwardmovement in the line of its axis it follows that any lateral strainexerted against its point will fail to secure such release. I thusprovide a bodkin which cannot become loosened from its operativeposition by any use to which such tools are put.

To return the bodkin to its inoperative position, it is necessary simplyto exert a slight outward pull thereon to move it to the position shownby broken lines in Fig. 2 and then swing it back to the position shownin Fig. 1.

In addition to the convenience with which the bodkin can be operated andthe security with which it is locked in its working position it will beobserved that by causing the bridge-block (Z to also perform thefunction of one member of the locking mechanism I greatly simplify andlessen the cost of the locking mechanism.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with the tWeezer-jaws a b and their interposedbridge-block d provided with the projection (Z, of the bodkin 6 havingits head 6' provided with the elongated hole 6 and notch or recess 6disposed as described, and pivot-screw e uniting said jaws and passingthrough said hole 6 of the bodkin, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ERASTUS N. PARKER.

Witnesses:

WM. II. CHAPMAN, FRANK J. DEMOND.

